Businesses sponsor National Fund for Vietnamese Children

HCM City (VNA) - Businesses pledged
to sponsor nearly 80 billion VND (3.43 million USD) for the National Fund for
Vietnamese Children (NFVC) under agreements signed at a programme in Ho Chi
Minh City on December 8 with the attendance of Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc
Thinh.

The sponsors include Long Thanh Golf Investment
and Trading J.S.C, IMEX Pan-Pacific Co. Ltd., and AIA Life Insurance Company
Limited.

Addressing the programme, Vice President Dang
Thi Ngoc Thinh, who is also Chairwoman of the NFVC Sponsorship Council, said
the protection, care and education of children is a priority goal of the Party
and State.

Vietnam is the first country in Asia and second
in the world to ratify the 1990 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, she
added.

The establishment of the National Fund for
Vietnamese Children in May 1992 has contributed to increasing social resources
to protect, care for, and educate children, Thinh said.

Since then, the fund has mobilised nearly 6.5
trillion VND (278.9 million USD) and supported 30 million needy children,
including those with disabilities.

In 2018, the fund has raised over 100 billion
VND (4.29 million USD) to help 80,000 underprivileged children, she noted.

There are still 1.5 million children from
disadvantaged backgrounds in the country and nearly 2.5 million could drop out
of school, she said.

In 2019, the fund will strive to mobilise 110
billion VND (4.72 million USD) and support 110,000 disadvantaged
children.

To realise this target, the fund needs support
from businesses and sponsors, the Vice President
said.-VNA